Crispin Leick is set to leave Innogy Venture Capital, the corporate venturing unit he helped set up for Germany-based energy utility RWE, at the end of 2015.
Leick has served as managing director and chief investment officer of Innogy VC since its 2010 formation, but RWE revealed in a statement yesterday that he has elected to step down from the position at the end of this year.
Leick is set to join Germany-based energy utility ENBW Energie Baden Wuerttenberg’s venturing unit, according to a source in the energy market.
ENBW New Ventures, which is managing a $100m fund, closed its first deal in July this year, backing Germany-based solar power leasing and storage company DZ-4.
Companies funded by Innogy VC during Leick’s tenure include solar cell developer Heliatek and energy consumption measuring company Kiwigrid. The unit is backed by RWE’s renewable energy subsidiary, RWE Innogy, and CEE, the renewables investment arm of financial services group Bankhaus Lampe.
Hans Buenting, CEO of RWE Innogy and chairman of its investment committee, said: “I thank Crispin Leick sincerely for his work and commitment over the past seven years during which he not only established the venture capital division at RWE Innogy but also positioned it as a leading venture capital investor (early stage) in Europe with more than 50 transactions with 12 portfolio companies.”
Leick made Global Corporate Venturing’s Powerlist in 2012, 2013 and 2014. His responsibilities will be taken on by Frank Starrmann, also a managing director at Innogy VC, as well as its chief financial officer. Starrmann has co led the unit with Leick for the past four years.
– Photo of Crispin Leick courtesy of LinkedIn. Additional reporting by Toby Lewis.